Echo of a Voiceless Scream
by Hareta
Summary: Ch.6 up! SasuSaku. During training, Sasuke saves Sakura and is lost. Two teams are sent out to find him- only to find a different Sasuke, kind, gentle, content and happy, a Sasuke rid of memories, with no horrible past.
1. Default Chapter

**Echo of a Voiceless Scream**

**Chapter 1: Deep rivers are silent**

That day started out pretty normal. First, a young black-haired shinobi came trudging up to the field with his hands inside his pockets, the first rays of sunlight too weak to distinctly cast his shadow. Around fifteen minutes or so later, a girl around his age with long pink hair shyly joined him, her burning cheeks sharply contrasting to the cold morning. And still a few minutes more after that, the shortest one of their group came, a boy with a mop of blonde hair tousled from sleep. As for the last and oldest member...well, he wouldn't be there until a few hours or so, lest a miracle happened that day. 

They started their wait sitting on the ground and facing away from each other. Once in a while the blonde one would break the comfortable silence with an insult aimed at his black-haired companion, who would then either throw one back or just ignore him. The girl had somehow gotten the idea that it was her duty or something of the like to retort for him whenever the latter happened, and while the initiator of it all would snap back at the other boy to start a bickering fight that would last a few minutes, he would not do that to her. Never to her, the one he liked but only had eyes for his best friend/rival. 

An hour passed, and then another. The sun had already risen past the top of the tall trees surrounding them. Suddenly, the black-haired one stood up. A silent conversation seemed to have underwent as the girl immediately moved off to the side where she would not get in the way while the other boy took out a kunai from his leg holster with a smirk. 

"I'll beat you up real bad today, Uchiha." 

"Don't say it, do it, dobe." 

The sharp sound of metals clashing together rang in the air as their weapons met, and then the dull sound of impact from an arm blocking a kick. They leaped back from each other and then jumped forward again. The blonde-haired boy aimed for the other's face but the black-haired boy saw this and leaned backward slightly, and then let go of his kunai and grabbed the other's wrist. Feeling the hold tighten until it became painful, the blonde let out a soft yelp and released his weapon as well. But he wasn't about to lose without doing anything. Without exactly thinking it over, he reached down with his other hand and literally pulled the other's leg from beneath him. The result was he succeeded in making the other loose his balance however, he was pulled after the boy when he fell backwards. 

"Ugh!" He wasn't sure whether it was Sasuke or him who had grunted in pain when his back fell on the other's chest and then their heads crashed against each other. The pain from the collision didn't leave though, instantly turning into a tremendous headache. 

"Sasuke-kun!" an alarmed shout came from somewhere on their left as he tried to sat up, or at least to roll off the other. The pink-haired girl saved him the trouble though by roughly pulling him to his feet. Still a bit dazed, he fell down heavily on the ground beside them when she released him to fuss over her crush. Sasuke remained lying down on the ground, but he wasn't moaning in sheer agony like he was. Oh, so it had been him earlier. 

"I'm fine, Sakura," he vaguely heard Sasuke mumble as the guy slowly sat up. His headache lessened some but a dull painful throbbing remained at the back of his head. He thought it wasn't fair that Sasuke looked as if nothing had happened while he messaged his nape with one hand. Wasn't he supposed to be the one with a head as hard as rock..? 

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and then rounded in on him. "Naruto! How dare you make Sasuke-kun fall like that?! And then fall on top of him?! He could have broken his back, or he could have had a concussion! Or he could have--" 

_He doesn't even have dirt on his clothes_, he wanted to answer but wisely kept his mouth shut. Sakura's voice was making his headache bad again but he knew a bop on his head would be worse. Luckily, Kakashi came then, effectively cutting her off with a "Yo!' 

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto responded automatically, both jumping to their feet and forgetting whatever it was they had been saying or thinking. 

"Anou...you see...my tie got lost at the cleaners and I had to wait for them to find it," Kakashi fibbed, giving them another of his outrageous if not outlandish reasons. 

"Liar!" Naruto shouted the usual. 

"You don't _wear_ a tie!" Sakura added. 

"Heh." Kakashi started to feel his pockets, looking as if he was searching for something. Probably his perverted book. "Hey, what's wrong with Sasuke?" he asked, eyes falling on the black-haired genin still sitting on the ground. 

"I'm fine," Sasuke repeated from earlier, hastily standing up and brushing imaginary dust from his shorts. Placing his hands into his pockets, he looked back at the three of them with his cool obsidian gaze. 

"Naruto made him fall and then fell on top of him," Sakura answered with a glare shot at the blonde who cowered at the look. 

"It wasn't my fault, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined. 

"Ah, I see. Well, how would you like to get even Sakura?" 

"What?" two voices reacted in unison, one male and the other female. Sasuke looked up at him warily. 

"We don't have any mission this afternoon. Fight with him and consider it your training," Kakashi hummed, resuming his task of hunting inside his pockets. "Ah, here it is." He beamed, pulling out Come Come Paradise and flipping it open. 

"Sensei, I'm fine." Sasuke was quick to protest, beating even Naruto, who wouldn't even dream of raising a hand against Sakura, to it. "No need to coddle me. Why can't I fight against Naruto?" 

"Because you just did and do you think Sakura is ready to go up against you?" he answered without even looking up from his book. 

Sakura's eyes lit up upon hearing this. If she beat Naruto, then it meant she could go par on par with Sasuke, right? Up until now, he had only fought against Naruto while she stayed in the sidelines, taking notes or cheering them on. But if she won...she could replace him as Sasuke's sparring partner! Not that she wanted to fight him, of course, but she would be able to spend more time with him and maybe even earn his respect. It was an opportunity too good to let pass! 

'_Hell yeah!_' Inner Sakura cheered her on. '_We'll beat Naruto up to a pulp and show 'em!_' 

"Okay, I'll do it! Naruto, get ready!" 

"Uh...Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked with a sweatdrop at the girl's enthusiam. But he really didn't want to fight-- 

"Begin," Kakashi said lazily. 

**!-oOo-!**

That his features showed no emotion whatsoever attested to the fact that he had no intention at all of admitting that this fight did amuse him. It wasn't that both participants showed extreme skill-- quite the contrary really-- but they were definitely...well, had he allowed himself a sense of humor, he would have called it _funny_. The way the normally lady-like girl attacked so viciously the blonde who kept on trying to talk her out of it was simply hilarious. He wanted to see the outcome of this match...which shouldn't be for awhile. The girl, though persistent, was weak and wouldn't be able to defeat the other for another dozen hits successfully landed or so, and the boy, who he knew could easily incapacitate the girl but wouldn't, did nothing but dodge as well as he could with an unusual show of grace. 

He jumped to the branch of another tree as the spot of pink below drove the blonde one farther from where they had begun. Their sensei remained where he was, standing below one of the trees back in the field and reading his perverted book, and didn't seem to realize that the fight had been moving to different areas of the forest for about six minutes now. Six minutes..._a shinobi fight shouldn't last that long_, he thought, now once more a bit restless and annoyed that he wasn't getting any training done. 

"Sakura-chan, please, stop it!" a voice below whined yet again as another kunai barely missed its target. The blonde's arm came up to counter-attack on reflex, but stopped an inch short of the Sakura's face. 

His sensitive ears picked up on the almost non-existent sound of a river somewhere to the side and below. He remembered a part of the forest ended in a cliff. It would have been the perfect launch-off for a swim except the waters below ran too deep...and too fast. If you didn't drown, you would be carried a kilometer downstream within five minutes. They were heading there, weren't they? Naruto was being forced to back into that area where the place he could run to would be limited. By design or coincidence he wasn't at all sure but he was betting on it to be the former. Sakura was top of class after all, book-wise that is. 

He didn't want to interfere, knowing this was her strategy. Or what she thought was strategy. Because in truth it wasn't. She wasn't only placing Naruto at a disadvantage, but also herself. Wait. Scratch disadvantage. She had placed their _lives_ on the line. 

And just as these things occurred to Sasuke, when a particularly large tree trunk blocked his view of the two genins fighting, an alarmed voice reached his ears, a startled shout, and then a scream. 

**!-end of prologue-!**

**Disclaimers:** _Unfortunately, I don't own Naruto._

**Author's notes:**

1. Here I am starting another Naruto fic. With luck, I may actually be able to update regularly and finish this. 

2. Now I've found a new character to have a problem with in keeping IC-- Kakashi! Now I'm deliberating whether or not to include him in the next chapters. What do you guys think? 

3. In the case that I have to exclude Kakashi (see no. 2), I'll have to have one of the genin teams enter the picture. Ino Team for a Shikamaru/Ino pairing or Kiba Team for a Naruto/Hinata pairing? Thoughts, anyone? 

4. Reviews please! CCs are welcome and even some flames, maybe.


	2. Chapter 2: A Life for Another

**Echo of a Voiceless Scream**

**Chapter 2: A life for another**

"Oh, shit." 

Naruto vaguely heard the stream of curses Sasuke let loose under his breath as his teammate quickly got down on his hands and knees. He himself didn't have the courage to peer down the side of the cliff, afraid of what he might see. But he did see the black-haired genin's body tense, then draw back and face him. 

"Sasuke-kun, help me!" 

"Naruto, get Kakashi _now_!" 

Was it Sakura's scream or Sasuke's order? He wasn't sure but he knew it was the panic he heard that stirred him back to life. He turned around and started running to where they had left her sensei, voices echoing after him and pushing him to run even faster. Although it wasn't very far, Naruto felt as if he had ran for hours. Finally, he emerged into the training ground, only to find their sensei nowhere in sight. 

"_Kakashi-sensei!_" he yelled, hollered, shouted-- all but screamed the jounin's name over and over again. Half of him wanted to go back but the thought that he wouldn't be able to help even if he did prevented him to do so. "Sensei! Sakura-chan's in trouble!" he cried out hoarsely into the empty field, both fists clenched in frustration. 

"Naruto?" a voice asked from behind him with slight amusement. 

"Kakashi!" he exclaimed and quickly whirled around to face the older shinobi. Kakashi smiled down at him-- at least, Naruto thought he was smiling, it was rather hard to tell with that mask of his-- but the smile slowly slipped off his face at the frightened look in the genin's eyes. "Come with me, quick!" 

"What happened?" Kakashi asked as he followed Konoha's loudest into the forest. Naruto gave a reply, but the wind picked up and he didn't hear a word of the boy. It both piqued his curiosity and alarmed him, how the blonde genin led him almost frantically to wherever it was they were going, running almost haphazardly through the forest. "What happened?" Kakashi repeated when they stopped at last, his charge panting and bent over with hands on his knees for support. 

"Saku..ra-chan...she...fell..." Naruto said between gasps of air, "I don't know! Ask Sasuke!" he said finally, pointing to where he had left his black-haired teammate on all-fours. 

But all they saw was Sakura lying on the ground unconscious. 

**-oOoOoOo-**

_What happened?_

'_Am I dead?_' Sakura thought as she opened her eyes only to see white in front of her. For a moment she thought she was in heaven already, but her vision focused soon enough and she realized it was only a white ceiling. Her body didn't even feel sore. 

"Oh! I think she's awake already!" a girl's voice she recognized said after the sound of a door opening. Soft footsteps came into the room and then the door closed. 

"Ino..?" she called in a rather croaky voice to her former best friend, trying to sit up. A pair of hands helped her, but they were larger than Ino's and a bit harder. The blonde hair and blue eyes in her line of sight weren't hers either. "Naruto?" 

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan," Naruto said in an uncharacterstically soft voice. He seemed somewhat...subdued. Sakura raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. 

"I'll tell Kakashi she'd woken up," a male voice said. Ino, who was busy arranging flowers in a vase on the table next to her bed, nodded without turning her eyes off her work. Sakura watched Shikamaru put down a basket of fruits next to the vase and then leave. Silence reigned in the room then, broken only by the soft rustling of the flowers and Chouji's ever constant munching on some chips at one corner of the room. 

Sakura felt...she didn't know. Disappointment? Anger? Rejection?..._Loneliness_, maybe. Naruto and all the members of Team 8 were there. All her closest friends had come to to visit her except him. Sasuke-kun. 

Wait a minute. Where _were_ they anyway? 

"What happened?" she asked the question that had been the first thing to occur to her when she woke up. And, deciding that Ino of all people should know the answer to her other question, asked it as well, "Where's Sasuke-kun?" Naruto and Ino stared at her, Ino's hands half-way in adding a twig of cherry blossom to the fabulous arrangement she was making. Even Chouji had stopped eating. "Naruto? Ino? Chouji?" 

At some point or another, Shikamaru had come back with their sensei. Kakashi walked over to the bed and looked down at her. 

"That's what we want to ask you." 

**-oOoOoOo-**

It was noon when Naruto and Kakashi found Sakura lying unconscious on the forest ground without a trace of Sasuke anywhere. They had immediately taken her to Konoha hospital where the doctor had told them the girl just needed some rest. She woke up the following morning lacking the memories she needed to answer her own, and many others', questions-- the latest she could remember was sitting with Sasuke and Naruto and waiting for Kakashi. What came after that was a blank. She was taken home by her mother around an hour after she woke up with the doctor's reassurance that her missing memories would return to her eventually. All she needed was some rest. 

And rest she was given. 

Kakashi forbid her to train and when she wouldn't listen, he suspended their training sessions altogether, giving the reason that it was pointless since Sasuke was not around. Naruto had fumed a bit over this of course, but when he finally saw the whole picture, he consented since it would help Sakura-chan. She resorted to doing self-training but her mother had once caught her. Now both she and, surprisingly, Ino took it their duties to stop her from strenuous work. Her mother she could understand, but _Ino_? One day, she couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and asked the blonde. 

"Ino?" 

"Yeah?" Ino replied distractedly, closing the door to the glass case of irises. They were in Yamanaka's flower shop Ino was looking after today. 

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, feeling the violet petal of a flower she didn't know slide between her fingers. She quickly drew away though, lest she destroys it or Ino reprimands her for messing with it, whichever comes first. 

"Doing what?" 

"Helping take care of me," Sakura answered, walking over towards the counter Ino stood behind of. "You really don't have to, you know...." 

"What do you mean I don't have to?" Ino asked rather angrily, turning around to face her, "You're my best--" she abruptly stopped, shaking her head. She turned her eyes away from Sakura for a moment and when she finally looked back, cool blue eyes met startled green ones."Don't think I'm doing this for you, _forehead_," she scoffed. "I'm doing this for myself. You're the only one who knows where Sasuke possibly is so you better hurry up and get better." She didn't say anything else after that, turning back to the flowers. Sakura noticed she was just running her hands in between the stems though, not really doing anything. 

Sasuke-kun...She had been to intent on trying to remember '_What happened?_' that she had almost forgotten her other question-- '_Where's Sasuke-kun?_' Sakura slightly got irritated with herself. How _could_ she? 

**-oOoOoOo-**

Three days passed. Sakura walked the streets of Konoha feeling the shinobis of the village slightly troubled by one certain Uchiha's absence. Konoha wasn't Konoha without him, was it? She sat down to dinner that night still wondering where he was and if he was having dinner too. She refused to believe the rumors that he was dead or that he had tourned into a rogue shinobi. And she knew that only she could destroy those rumors, that was, if she would regain her memories soon. 

_What happened? _

Where's Sasuke-kun? 

A metal spoon fell rather loudly to the floor, followed soon after by the harsh sound of chair legs moving against stone as it was pushed back hastily. Sakura stood, staring straight in front of her. 

"Sakura?" her mother called quietly, placing a hand over her daughter's. It felt cold, clammy. Haunted green eyes turned to her. 

"I-I remember...." 

"Yes?" her mother prompted. 

"I...I killed Sasuke-kun." 

**--end of chapter 2--**

**Standard Disclaimers applied-- _I don't own Naruto!_**

**Author's Notes:**

1. See Chapter 1. 

2. Sorry for the long wait, made even longer by my '_misbehaving_' on me. XD 

3. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! 


	3. Chapter 3: Search for the Lost Prince

**Echo of a Voiceless Scream**

**Chapter 3: Search for the lost prince**

"Sasuke-kun, help me!" Sakura screamed and then broke into sobs, cold fear gripping her, as cold as how she imagined the waters below her was. Her left leg was caught between roots that protruded from the side of the cliff and she could almost hear the wood breaking with her added weight. Far above her, Sasuke shouted something but she hardly heard him as panic overruled logic and she thrashed as much as her position allowed her to. 

"Sakura, stop struggling!" Sasuke shouted down to the girl who seemed oblivious to him. He was down on the grass on his stomach by now and he looked down at her and stared as the last of the wooden sinews broke. 

"Sasuke..!" Sakura threw her arms around her wildly as she tried to hold on to something but found nothing within her reach. She was about to plummet head first into the river with only about three seconds to spare.... 

Sasuke didn't have time to think. He backed away from the edge of the cliff and did the hand seals for the jutsu he had picked on instinct. Cold water washed over him and then...and then there was nothing. 

Sakura felt the touch of warm green grass scratch her cheeks. She heard someone hurriedly say, "I don't know! Ask Sasuke!" but was too tired to try and figure out who it was. She closed her eyes...and there was nothing. 

**-oOoOoOo-**

"That _idiot_!" 

Naruto's sharp cry broke the contemplative silence that followed soon after Kakashi's explanations. The people present in the room, namely, what was left of Team 7 and the whole of Team 8, stared at the blonde genin whose fists were clenched at his side. Beside Naruto, Sakura turned her head down and though she did not cry, her shoulders shook slightly. "Sasuke-teme, you're such a baka!" Naruto continued with his outburst and stamped his foot on the wooden floor. 

"Naruto, calm down," Kakashi intoned and laid a hand on top of the blonde-head. Naruto shook it off angrily. "You would have done the same thing." 

"I would have but he--he could have done something else! Shinobi strings, kunai-- _anything_! I thought he's supposed to be a _genius_," Naruto managed to scoff at the last moment with ill-concealed agitation. He crossed his arms on his chest and looked down at the floor much like what Sakura did so that no one could look into his eyes and see the worry that he held there. And the refusal-- he refused to believe that Sasuke might be dead! 

"So, what are we here for?" a voice drawled out lazily, as if the owner had put aside something important he had to do just to be there. Which was highly unlikely. Shikamaru was never busy because he was too lazy to even think of doing anything. He got two bops on the head for his efforts to speak up though. 

"Shikamaru!" Ino hissed, eyes slightly red. It was clear for anyone to see that she was trying not to cry. The other hit had come from their sensei, Asuma, who stood behind the three of them with the ever constant cigarette stick between his lips. Chouji munched on his chips next to him contentedly. 

"It's simple," Kakashi replied at length. He took a scroll from one of his vest pockets and handed it to the shogi-master who received it warily. "The details of your next mission, C-ranked, are written inside. For this mission, teams 7 and 8 will be forming one group." 

'_Our next mission?_' Shikamaru frowned as he pocketed the scroll. "All seven of us are going?" he asked incredulously. 

"Uh, no," Asuma answered. The lit end of his cigarette moved up and down as he spoke. "At first this was for Team 7 only, but a job came up requiring at least two jounins-- don't worry, there's no threat to the village or anything," he hastily added at the looks his charges shot him, "Kakashi and I took the job and since you don't have a sensei either, teams 7 and 8 are now stuck with each other. Five genins should be enough for an easy mission like this." 

"Easy, huh? Then why is it C-ranked?" Shikamaru challenged. 

"Because you'd be going outside the village borders,," Kakashi replied. He shifted in position only slightly, but the change seemed to be so potent that both Sakura and Naruto looked up at their sensei immediately. His light tone of voice acquired a strong, authorative quality to it too with his next words. "Teams 7 and 8, your mission is to investigate Uchiha Sasuke's disappearance, find him, and restore him to the village if possible." 

_If possible...._

-oOoOoOo- 

"You idiot, idiot, _idiot_!" Naruto continued to curse his rival as he packed that afternoon for their mission. He was more used to anger, after all, than anxiety where it concerned the black-haired genin. In between breaths he heard what could be mistaken as a sob come from his living room. A shirt was left neglected on the floor as he jumped out of bed and hurried into the adjoining area. "Sakura-chan, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Are you alright?" he asked, uncharacteristically thoughtful. Or perhaps not by much. This was Sakura after all. 

"Ah--yes, I'm fine. Don't worry, Naruto," Sakura reassured the blonde boy hurriedly although she did not offer him a smile. At least, she wasn't crying. That was a relief to Naruto. "Are you finished packing?" 

"Just a sec," Naruto replied as he practically flew back into his room. He stood at the foot of his bed for half a second or so and blinked down at his bag. Was he really that frustrated? His things were nothing close to a resemblance of tidiness. All of his clothes seemed to have been forcefully stuffed into his backpack. And perhaps they had been. With a shake of his head, he threw the ealier discarded shirt with the lot and zipped his bag shut. "Okay, ready!" 

When he re-joined Sakura in the living room, she already had her own soft-pink bag on. "Ok, let's go," she said quietly and led the way out of his apartment. 

Naruto walked a few steps behind the girl on the streets with his arms folded behind his head. He was so used to it that he couldn't help but keep a slight grin on even at a situation like this. Most of the village knew that he was in the same team as Sasuke (and all who did thought he was unworthy!) and if they saw him now, they would hate him all the more for that smile on his lips. They would prejudge him just as how they always did. Well, what was a little more hate when they already see and treat you like a demon-- literally? 

He kept his eyes on the back of Sakura's head. Why had she dropped by to his apartment? It was true that their meeting point with Team 8 was somewhere near, but she could have just gone on ahead. He doubted Ino was in any mood to argue with her today after what they heard that morning from Kakashi. He was just about to ask when Sakura suddenly stopped right in the middle of the road. 

Thinking she might finally start to cry now, Naruto quickened his pace and was beside her in an instant. "Sakura-chan..?" he called uncertainly. The girl turned to him, eyes dry but sad...so sad. 

"Naruto, he's not dead," Sakura said firmly, as if she was trying to tell not only him but herself as well, "He can't be dead. I'd know, right? I'd feel it if he died." 

"No, he's not," Naruto was quick to agree, "And...I'd feel it too. He...he's my friend." He finally allowed himself to admit and say out loud, mask of a smile slipping off his face just as he did. But only momentarily. Idiotic grin was back on full-force soon enough. But he did lay a gentle hand on Sakura's shoulder and squeezed it, not surprised when the girl didn't shake it off disgustedly as she normally would. 

He _was_ startled however, when Sakura suddenly threw her arms around his neck. Not knowing what to do, he closed his own ones around her in an awkward hug. 

"He's not dead. You believe in it too, right? Then he's not. I know he's not...." 

**-oOoOoOo-**

"Shikamaru, exactly how many times have you read the scroll?" 

Ino was back to her normal, demanding, irritating self. Women were always so complicated and troublesome. What was worse, Shikamaru honestly didn't know whether he liked Ino this way or the other. And he had long given up on convincing himself that he plainly disliked the girl in whatever mood she was in. Because clearly that wasn't the case. After all, he has tolerated her all these months, hasn't he? "Once, Ino. It's too long to read again," he said. Figures that would be his answer. 

Ino didn't look pleased at all. "Hand it over," she demanded, one slender hand placed open under his nose. Shikamaru tried not to roll his eyes as he did as ordered. Sounds of soft murmuring came as Ino scanned through the scroll. Shikamaru straightened from his stooped position after awhile, shaking his head. 

"Not here either," he announced, finally deciding that the ground had not been disturbed by any human for days, if not weeks. They had walked a good couple of miles or so downstream from where Sakura and Naruto said Sasuke had fallen, making frequent stops to see if the missing genin had been washed ashore at some point or another, which would indicate he was struggling through the forest at the moment to get back to the village. They had no such luck as of yet. 

"It's darkening. We better set up camp," the male blonde of their group suddenly spoke, startling Shikamaru some. He and Sakura had been quiet since they arrived at the appointed meeting place...actually, except for Naruto's occassional curse directed at an absent and unknowing Sasuke, they had been so since this morning when Kakashi broke the news. 

"Maybe," Shikamaru consented, nodding his head, "We're beside the river. This is a good place to set up camp. Naruto, Ino, you guys go get some firewood and scout the area. Chouji, help me set up camp. Sakura, take care of starting dinner," he ordered and the others immediately started to carry them out with mumbled agreements. They had all seen the wordless appointment of Shikamaru as team leader earlier by their senseis. Ino did shoot him a look before she followed Naruto into the forest though. 

It wasn't as if he wanted to be leader, Shikamaru thought rather bitterly as he unrolled Naruto's bright orange sleeping bag first. He would really rather not be but as of then no one else in the group was fit for the position. Ino, Sakura and Naruto were all more than a bit emotional of this mission (even though they tried hard to appear not to be), and Chouji...well, he was more of a follower, one would say. 

"Shikamaru," Sakura called from where she stood next to one of the open packs, breaking into his thoughts, "I don't think there's--" She stopped abruptly, a shrill cry interrupting her mid-sentence. The girl's green eyes widened in alarm. "That's--" 

"--_Ino_!" the brown-haired genin finished as he disappeared into the trees Naruto and Ino both had minutes ago. 

**--end of chapter 3--**

**Disclaimers:** _If I owned Naruto, I would have included this in the series. "Shameless Plugging" (see A/N 4) is Kazie's style._

**Author's Notes:**

1. Quick and long (IMHO) update for you! Thanks for the reviews! And some of you actually thought she might have killed him..?(!?) 

2. Side-pairing of Ino/Shika it is! Poor Naruto. But I'm too nice (and lazy!) to come up with a convenient reason and replace Chouji with Hinata just to satisfy my whims. 

3. On the little NaruSaku scene-- I actually see these two's relationship like that of siblings, much like how Naruto and Sasuke seem like brothers is semi-yaoist. Although who is oniichan/onechan (older brother/sister) between the two is up to anyone's guess. 

4. Kakashi's out of the story, hai. Sorry. I love him too, you know, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. About a mission that would require at least two jounins but doesn't concern any threat to the village-- don't ask! I don't know what mission that would be and haven't heard of any like it. XD 

5. Shameless plugging: Please join or, at least, check out this Board: Hidden Secrets- A Naruto RPG, 


	4. Chapter 4: A journey of friends

**Echo of a Voiceless Scream**

**Chapter 4: A journey of friends**

"Naruto!" Ino shouted in a voice Shikamaru couldn't read. His heart pounded so hard it felt as if his chest was about to break open from the inside and he cursed himself for letting Ino scout the area with Naruto. Because for all her seemingly brash ways, Ino was still a _girl_! Better off with Sakura cooking or with Chouji unrolling sleeping bags and setting up camp, not loose in unknown woods near dusk! 

But really, he cursed himself not because he did not know these things but because he _did_ know all along. Ino was...making him loose his focus more often lately than he would admit. Not that he would admit anything. He should have left camp himself if he wanted to get away from her.... 

'_Ino, hold on...._' 

**-oOoOoOo-**

"Naruto!" Ino shouted angrily with a simultaneous whack upside the head of the whiskered blonde boy. Almost on reflex, Naruto just grinned back at her as he rubbed his sore head. Ino glared. "Pick them up!" she demanded, pointing at the rather few pieces of dry wood she had gathered, and dropped when Naruto suddenly approached her from behind and startled her. He really was such a klutz, wasn't he? 

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled as began on the task at once and Ino felt guilty-- but only very slightly. She was taking note of how the boy had gotten much more wood than her when the sound of something running in a frenzy through the foliage towards them reached her ears. "Naruto, something's out there!" Ino told her temporary teammate as she took out a kunai and readied it in front of herself in defense. Naruto just looked at her helplessly. "What are you _doing_?!" she hissed. 

"The firewood..." 

"Drop them, you idiot!" 

Naruto dropped them quickly. And loudly. 

"Quietly!" Ino warned belatedly. The bushes across the clearing stirred with movement from the other side. The two blonde genins visibly tensed before relaxing as a familiar figure stepped out. She glared at the newcomer. 

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked breathlessly. He was winded from the hasty run but still managed to sound bored. "I heard you scream." 

"Naruto just startled me." Ino shook her head. She tore her eyes away from those of her teammate albeit she found it more difficult than she thought it would be. His eyes showed genuine concern and something sparked within the girl, replacing her itch to shout at the boy for scaring them like that. It was a feeling she didn't know she knew, though it felt somewhat familiar. "These woods are safe. Let's go back. I want to get some sleep." 

She was just tired. Tomorrow would be a new day and none of this would appear to have happened. If she would remember, she might think it over carefully. As for now though, it was nothing to her but the effects of exhaustion. 

They had walked quite far today after all. 

**-oOoOoOo-**

The night was silent, and it passed without incidence. They ate the food Sakura cooked in relative silence, Ino playing the evil rival and dropping a cryptic remark now and then. Tonight she sounded half-hearted more than ever though. Naruto whined some about not having ramen, but Shikamaru shut him up soon enough. Both kept on stealing glances at the girls they liked. Chouji was quiet, as he usually was, content with munching on his chips. He seemed to have an infinite supply of them. 

Partners for the watch were made up. Shikamaru insisted on going first, and alone. Sakura and Naruto were paired together, naturally. First, because they were teammates and second, because the boys didn't want to be woken and kept up by the two girls' bickering. Ino and Chouji would go last. 

Shikamaru stayed up, then woke Team 7 for their turn. Naruto and Sakura sat together on the forest floor with their backs turned on each other so that they'd be able to see both directions. An hour into it or so, Naruto felt Sakura recline against him lightly, asleep once again. Shifting ever so slightly so that the girl wouldn't accidentally slip and hit the ground, he allowed her what he knew was much needed rest. When the time came for the third watch, he carried her back to her sleeping bag and settled her into it before waking up Ino and Chouji. 

The night was silent, and it passed without incidence. 

**-oOoOoOo-**

"Naruto, I didn't fall back asleep during our watch last night, did I?" Sakura asked her blonde teammate anxiously the following morning as they fixed their sleeping bags, though she was half-sure of the answer already. Naruto turned to her with one of his closed-eyes vulpine grins. 

"Of coure not, Sakura-chan," he lied cleanly and, at the skeptical look Sakura gave him, added, "I kept on dozing off and you scolded me every time I did." A not unlikely story, but the look became even more skeptical. Sakura didn't say anything more though, and he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. 

"Ready to go?" Ino asked as she went over to them. They nodded in agreement and slipped on their packs. Shikamaru and Chouji were by the riverside already, each doing his own thing. The former was, as usual, analyzing the soil. Nothing. There was still no sign of Sasuke coming ashore. Chouji, on the other hand, was looking into the waters. It was deeper here and the other bank farther, but the flow of water was much calmer. Suddenly, he gave a surprised yelp. It was strange and it didn't sound like him at all. "Chouji, what's wrong?" Shikamaru asked, getting to his feet. 

"There!" Chouji exclaimed, pointing. Shikamaru and Ino both tried to see what it was but-- 

--_SPLASSSSH!_ In true Naruto brashness, Naruto and a couple of his kage bunshins jumped into the river, disturbing its surface. Sakura stood with Naruto's upper clothes by her feet with a slightly annoyed look on her face. 

After about five minutes of fighting with the current and hunting around the riverbed, the three blondes returned to the bank. The two clones disappeared in twin puffs of smoke. 

"Did you find anything?" 

He threw something dark blue on the ground in front of them. "It's Sasuke's," Naruto said in a quiet, very un-Naruto-ish manner. 

It was Sasuke's Leaf head protector. 

-oOoOoOo- 

"What do you think, Shikamaru?" Ino asked him that noon as they stopped to eat lunch a few yard or so away from the river, to which he was on his way to do what by now was his routinary check. 

"About what?" Ino tsked in irritation beside him. Shikamaru refrained from rolling his eyes heavenward. "I don't know. Maybe he got washed further downstream? By now, a normal human would have drowned already..." Ino's look hardened, turning into a glare. "...but Sasuke's strong enough," he amended quickly, "I'm sure he's still alive somewhere." 

The girl huffed angrily and strode back to the others. He didn't bother to go after her. Sitting on his heels, he ran a hand over the soil. Almost absently since he didn't expect the conclusion he would come to any different from the previous dozen. That is, that Sasuke had not-- 

He stopped. His eyes widened slightly. Wait. 

"Naruto!" he shouted the name of the first of his companions to enter his mind, standing up. In a few seconds all four of them came running up to him. 

"What is it?!" Naruto asked excitedly albeit slightly alarmed. 

"There." He pointed. All eyes turned to the ground, blinked and turned back to him. 

"What?" 

"Don't you see?" Two heads shook a negative. The two females looked thoughtful, but both kept their eyes on him expectantly. He refrained from rolling his eyes heavenward again. "There's an obvious depression, like someone has lain here. And that someone just might be Sasuke." 

"Well, where is he?!" 

"How should I know? It's been days! There wouldn't be a trace of him left by now!" A thoughtful pause. "Or maybe not. Everyone, look around for any sign of him. A discarded kunai, footprints, anything," he told the others. They separated and looked around without a word. Fifteen depressing minutes later, a stunned shout from Sakura caused them all to sprint towards the girl's direction. 

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto was the first to reach her, Team 10 right behind him. What sight met them was the last they imagined to see. 

A handful of grass blades stained with days-old dried blood, a couple of shurikens embedded deep into wood, kunais scattered about...and.... 

"I guess...we don't have to look for him by the river anymore." 

**--end of chapter 4--**

**Disclaimers:** If I owned the series it would be called "Sasuke" and not "Naruto", never mind which character the stroy evolves around. Feel lucky I don't.

**Author's Notes:**

1. Sorry for the long wait! I had a brief writer slum and then the exams came. It's X-mas break now tho, and I hope to be able to release at least five or so chapters of this story before school picks up again. 

2. This is actually version 2 of chapter four. Version 1 was halfway done but it started to sound too serious...and, well, just off, so I decided not to push through with it, I'd still post the half-done chapter though (chapter after this) for anyone interested. 

3. Corrections. I re-read the manga and ShikaInoChouji team is Team 10. I haven't fixed the previous chapters, but from this point on I'm using 10. 

4. Review responses will come with the next chapter, Chapter 5: The end of their journey. Feel free to ask any question/give positive or negative feedback in your reviews! 


	5. Failed Chapter 4: A Short Journey of Fri...

**A/N: FAILED CHAPTER FOUR**

**Echo of a Voiceless Scream**

**Chapter 4: A Short Journey of Friends**

"Naruto!" Ino shouted in a voice Shikamaru couldn't read. His heart pounded so hard it felt as if his chest was about to break open from the inside and he cursed himself for letting Ino scout the area with Naruto. Because for all her seemingly brash ways, Ino was still a girl! Better off with Sakura cooking or with Chouji unrolling sleeping bags and setting up camp, not loose in unknown woods near dusk! 

But really, he cursed himself not because he did not know these things but because he _did_ know all along. Ino was...making him loose his focus more often lately than he would admit. Not that he would admit anything. He should have left camp himself if he wanted to get away from her.... 

'_Ino, hold on...._' 

**-oOoOoOo-**

"Naruto!" Ino shouted angrily with a simultaneous whack upside the head of the whiskered blonde boy. Almost on reflex, Naruto just grinned back at her as he rubbed his sored head. Ino glared. "Pick them up!" she demanded, pointing at the rather few pices of dry wood she had gathered, and dropped when Naruto suddenly approached her from behind and startled her. He really was such a klutz, wasn't he? 

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled as began on the task at once and Ino felt guilty-- but only very slightly. She was taking note of how the boy had gotten much more wood than her when the sound of something running in a frenzy through the foliage towards them reached her ears. Apparently, Naruto's as well as he quickly dropped the pile he carried and took out a kunai. He moved next to Ino quietly, only the softest rustle coming from the blades of grass around them. 

"Naruto, what--" 

"Ino," he whispered her name in such urgeny that it effectively cut off her preceding much louder statement. His blue eyes had a glint in them Ino had never seen before. At least, not in him. Had anyone seen him like this before? His team, maybe? He looked like a true shinobi. Brave, almost like-- "When I tell you to move, run back to the others. As quick as you can, alright?" 

--_like Sasuke._

Irrational anger flared up from inside her. She herself didn't understand it but all she knew was that she didn't like...Naruto this way. In truth she was just not used to seeing Naruto in action, like this, but though she didn't seem like it, Sasuke's disappearance had affected her, was affecting her, and her actions and decisions, more than even herself knew, complicating and darkening the simplest of things. "Stop acting like Sasuke!" she snapped, cold fire burning deep within blue eyes, "Stop it, Naruto! You'll never be like him, never!" 

Naruto's own azures registered shock, and then anger, and, Ino didn't know what else it could be, _bitterness_. "Ssh," he said, placing one finger against his lips for silence. Then, dryly, "I'm not trying to be him. If I was, you'd be alone right now, you know. Sasuke-teme, never cares, the bastard, not even for his own teammates, much less--" 

_SLAP!_

The palm of her hand connected with his left cheek before she could even think about the action. Naruto's face turned sharply to the right with the force of it. Ino's glare didn't waver, but her hand, still in the air, shook. Her lips parted to verbalize a reprimand or two, but before she could, something altogether brown and flesh burst out of the woods and pounced on the boy. 

**-oOoOoOo-**

They had a brief scuffle on the ground before Shikamaru finally managed to get on top of Naruto and pin his arms above his head. Brown eyes blazed in anger, the image of Naruto standing so close to Ino and silencing her with a simple gesture burning in his mind's eye. "What were you doing to do to Ino?" he asked angrily and his hands tightened around Naruto's wrists, "_What?!_" 

"Shikamaru!" Ino's alarmed voice exclaimed. 

**A/N: FAILED CHAPTER FOUR**


	6. Chapter 5: The end of their journey

**Echo of a Voiceless Scream**

**Chapter 5: The end of their journey**

"H-hey! Look!" Naruto shouted ecstatically as he stood on top of the hill, pointing down to the other side of it which was currently _not_ in their line of sight. All of them groaned. If this was another 'exotic' animal/bug/plant Naruto had never seen before (but was fairly common), they were all going to flip. And someone was definitely getting another bump in the head. "We've finally reached town!" he revealed, just after Sakura and Ino began to crack their knuckles. Both girls' hands dropped and they immediately ran to the boy's side. 

'_It's not going to go anywhere, you know. Why bother run?_' Shikamaru thought as he and Chouji followed the three at a deliberate, much slower pace. Not that he could really blame them. The pair had been whining for days now about wanting a warm bath and sleeping in a proper bed. They should have realized that such things just weren't possible while you're on a search mission like theirs. He sighed. Women, he'd never understand them. 

Ino gave a delighted shriek that didn't sound like her, one that Sakura echoed seconds later. Shikamaru and Chouji reached them by then, the former cringing at the shrill sounds. As the three merrily ran down the hill with his best friend in tow, he reached down and ran a hand through the grass. 

"The carriage had been here, definitely." 

There had been carriage tracks from the clearing where they found the bloodied grass and kunais. They had been following it for days now, since it was the only thing they had to go on. Fortunately for them, the transport had kept off the road for some reason, and stirred enough dirt for them to go by. Their 'tracking' eventually led them here, this small town the name of which none of them was sure of. They soon found out that the small village was part of the Wave Country, home to the men monitoring what crossed the bridge and guarding the country's borders, and their families. Sakura had broken into a description of the country as, apparently, Team 7 had been there before, which was a big mistake to do in front of their blonde companion, who had done nothing since then but talk about _the Great Naruto Bridge_. Much to their chagrin, his pink-haired teammate had acquiesced that there _was_ such a thing, the first monumental structure to ever be named after an idiot. 

"_What?!_ I can't believe this!" Ino finally lost her cool near dusk when they've established that there was no inn anywhere in the small village. Of course, they should have realized early that there wouldn't be any. The closest one was across the bridge, in the main Wave Country. 

"Maybe we should start walking now," Naruto suggested, a bit too eagerly to the rest of the group's liking. 

"Walking?" the shopkeeper echoed with a hint of disbelief in his voice, "It's a long way off. Even if you young shinobis run, you wouldn't reach the other side 'til long past midnight. By then, the gates would have been closed." 

"How troublesome…" Shikamaru inserted his trademark line as he began to back off from the shop's wooden counter. It meant they would have to set up camp again this night. That, or sleep on the streets. And the three boys would have to endure another day of the girls' complaining tomorrow too. 

"Sir, would you know if there's a boat that would take us to the island?" Sakura asked the man politely, not giving up. They had used the boat of their client's friend the last time, when the bridge had not yet been completed. 

"I'm sorry, but ever since the bridge was completed, boats were no longer often needed," the shopkeeper answered, shaking his head, "but there are still a few around," he added when he saw the disappointed look on the young girl's face, "though none of them would want to leave during the night." 

'_What do you mean '**none of them would want to leave during the night**'?!_' Inner Sakura hollered and it startled Sakura because Inner Sakura had been quiet ever since that day of the training, shaking her fist at the shopkeeper, '_Show 'em to me and I'll **make** them take us!_' 

"Well, thank you anyway, sir," Sakura said as she and the others left the shop, which the keeper closed as soon as they stepped outside, "What do we do now?" 

"What else? We'll have to sleep outside. Again." Ino did not sound the least bit happy about the matter. "This is just perfect! And tomorrow, if we--_oof!_" 

A man who seemed to be in an awful hurry ran right into blonde girl. Ino fell backwards, caught cleanly by Naruto by the shoulders, and while the rather burly man wasn't thrown off his feet the slightest, he was however stopped. Not because of Ino, apparently, since he stared right through their little group. A few seconds passed in stunned silence and then he let out a groan. 

"Oh, man! It's closed!" he moaned in utter dismay and they could only guess he referred to the shop they had left only a few minutes ago. At the sound of his voice, Ino seemed to snap out of her shock and quickly pulled away from Naruto, glaring. 

"Hey! You practically ran over me and don't even have the decency to apologize?!" 

"What do I do now? I really needed those nails," the man continued to lament, completely ignoring her. The large stress mark at the back of Ino's head was joined by another, equally large one. 

'_What a loser!_' Inner Sakura jeered. 

"_Why you--?!_" 

"Ino, stop it," Shikamaru told the girl as Chouji held her off from clawing at the man, while creative oaths continued to run out of her mouth. The man finally seemed to notice them as he looked down. His sweeping gaze ended with Sakura. 

"You're-you're Sakura, right? Haruno Sakura?" he asked uncertainly. 

"Uh...yes," Sakura replied just as uncertainly, not knowing how the man could possibly know of her name. 

"Don't you remember me? Oh, I suppose not..." he mumbled, wiping his hands on his trousers. He extended it to the girl for a shake. "My name's Giichi. I used to work on the bridge under Tazuna." 

Giichi was a man in his late thirties with thinning hair and a rather rough-looking, sculpted face. He had the build of a construction worker crossed with that of a fisherman. Indeed, his dark but obviously dusty clothes attested to that. Still, he looked comely, perhaps because times have change. And times did seem to have changed a lot as the man looked healthy and well-fed unlike the thin, frail-looking men Sakura remembered working on the bridge. 

"I'm sorry I don't remember you," Sakura said with an apologetic smile as he shook the man's hand. He shook the others' hands as well, the last being-- 

"Hey! He hasn't apologized to me yet!" Ino said angrily, not taking the hand offered to her. 

"For what?" Giichi asked, confused. 

"You accidentally bumped into her," Sakura explained hastily. 

'_Ha! The hag deserves it!_' Inner Sakura suddenly cut in again. 

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm sorry, Miss..?" 

"Ino, Yamanaka Ino," Ino snapped. 

"...Miss Yamanaka," he finished, dropping his hand. Sakura gave him the others' names in turn and his eyes lit up when Naruto was introduced. 

"Is this the same Naruto? The one our bridge is named after?" he asked excitedly. 

"Hai! I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto! No. one of Konoha and future Hoka--" 

"--Whatever, you idiot," Shikamaru cut him off, much to the others' relief. 

"Hey!" 

"Can we go now?" Ino asked impatiently with one hand on her waist and a sandaled foot tapped on the ground rhythmically. In a sleeping bag or not, she wanted to get some sleep and just hurry on to tomorrow when she could finally have her bath! 

"Yeah, yeah. Jeez...you're so impatient," Shikamaru mumbled as he started towards the outside of village. 

"Wait, where are you going?" Giichi asked. He seemed reluctant to let them go-- Naruto most especially. More than one incredulous eyebrow raised. Hadn't he figure out by now that the blonde was an idiot just by his introduction of himself alone? Then again, they said that birds of a feather flock together. They're both idiots. 

"To set up camp. There aren't any inns here we can stay in and there's no way we can get across the bridge tonight." 

"Ah. Well..." he hesitated, then his face broke into a crooked smile, "You can stay at my place. The missus and children are all across the bridge to visit my in-laws...I can't stand them...so the house is pretty empty. What do you say?" 

They looked at each other. After weeks of sleeping on hard ground with only the thin padding of the sleeping bag to cushion their backs, need they even think about their decision? 

**-oOoOoOo-**

"_Naruto!_" Sakura hissed at her rude teammate, glaring. They had just finished the dinner their host had graciously made for them when the blonde had the guts to actually whine about wanting ramen right there on the table! He earned another bop on the head for that. 

"O-ow!! But, Sakura-chan, I really, _really_ want ramen! It's been ages since I've last had ramen!" he complained even as he raised both of his arms around his head to protect it from another blow. 

"You just had it the day before yesterday, Naruto!" Sakura reminded him irritably. Over a third of Naruto's pack had consisted of small, ramen cups. And he had forgotten his bath soap but he hadn't forgotten his matches to start a fire with to heat water to cook his beloved noodles with. More than one meal they all had to suffer his ramen since Sakura found out that the supplies they brought might not last them until they reached their destination. For all his love of the food, Naruto was not at all hesitant to share it with them. Imagine then what they had to go through when the blonde realized he had none left yesterday morning. 

"But, but!" 

"I'm really sorry we don't have any ramen in the house, Naruto," Giichi apologized, looking rather down-hearted. But then, he suddenly cheered up. "I know! A new tavern has opened up the other day. They serve ramen. It's--" 

Naruto was out of the house before he could even finish. 

"How rude!" 

"Does he even know _where it is_?" 

"I-I think I have to go after him," Sakura said as she slowly stood up from her seat, "I am his teammate after all. Giichi-san, where is this tavern?" 

"It's right beside the tool shop we met in front of earlier." 

Odd. She didn't see any tavern then.... 

"Its back faces the road. You have to go through an alley to get to the entrance at the other side." 

"Thank you," Sakura mumbled as she slipped out of the house as well. 

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Giichi asked the remaining three as they started to clean the table, "Did you come to fetch your friend?" Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji stopped abruptly from whatever they were doing and turned to him, startled. 

"Our friend..?" 

"Yeah, that one that came with Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan the last time they came here. He kept on pretending he didn't know anything about ninja so I thought maybe he was in a mission or something," Giichi said, completely missing the reactions of his listeners, "You know? That black-haired one?" 

**-oOoOoOo-**

"You don't know where to go, do you?" 

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed gleefully as he whirled around, blue eyes wide in delight. The sheepish look he had on his face was enough to tell that Sakura was right, but he answered nonetheless, "Anou...yeah, something like that." He laughed uneasily. 

Sakura shook her head,slightly amused. "Come on. Let's go," she said as she started to lead the way to the shop. 

"But, but, Sakura-chan, I've been there earlier!" Naruto protested. It seemed as if the whole village was already asleep to him. 

"I know the way, don't worry," Sakura assured him as she finally found the said alleyway and turned into it. Finally, they reached the third side of the building and was immediately taken by the colorful lights, merry-making sounds and wonderful smells coming from inside. They entered quickly, not noticing the carriage parked against the wall right outside.... 

"Good evening! What would you have?" a young waitress, one of three, wearing a worn frilly pink apron asked them as she stood by their table with a notebook and pen in hand. 

"Do you have ramen?" Naruto immediately piped up, almost drooling in his excitement. 

The waitress grinned. "Do we? That's the only thing we serve here! What flavor?" Naruto gave a shout of happiness and then proceeded to ordering four bowls of beef ramen-- for starters. Sakura said she had enough for dinner and refused to order, so Naruto ordered one bowl of chicken ramen for her. 

"I can't believe how lucky you are, Naruto," she said as the waitress sauntered away to get their meals, "that the only 'tavern' in this village ends up to be a ramen stand!" 

"Ramen's good, Sakura-chan! No, it's _great_!" 

"But still, I wonder why there are so many people here," Sakura said and she asked their waitress as the girl expertly laid their bowls down in front of them. Naruto instantly dug in, not waiting or caring to hear the answer to his teammate's question. 

"Oh, that? I'm a bit surprised of the large turn-out myself. It's rather boring in this here village, you know, so Mama thought we should put up something to entertain the people. It's good promotion she said. It should start anytime now," the waitress told them, her voice giving away she had objections to the said entertainment. But she didn't say anything more, hurrying to a nearby table from where another group flagged her down. 

"Entertainment, huh?" Sakura muttered as she half-heartedly started on her chicken ramen. It wasn't that bad. She looked around as she ate and finally saw the make-shift stage near their end of the room. It was crossed by shadows and hardly noticeable. Just as she was about to point this to Naruto, the stage was suddenly lit up and an elderly woman was onstage, holding a microphone and calling for everyone's attention. After some introductory words, what was obviously some play of a sort went under way. The oldest actor was only a few years older than the two of them and the youngest looked to be about the age of three so the play for the most part was comical even if it wasn't very good. The audience seemed to immensely enjoy it. 

Fifteen into it, a new actor was presented. 

He obviously portrayed a good character, there to save the kidnapped (though giggling) children bound by ropes (that wouldn't stay tied) in the middle of the stage. He stepped out of the wings and bowed gamely to them with a smile. His face then turned into a hilarious amalgamation of cheerfulness and heroic seriousness as he pulled out origami stars...shurikens? 

He played the part of a ninja and the audience applauded loudly as he saved the children. All but the two real ninjas watching, staring at the laughing figure on-stage as the children crowded around him. 

_"Naruto, he's not dead," Sakura said firmly, as if she was trying to tell not only him but herself as well, "He can't be dead. I'd know, right? I'd feel it if he died." _

"No, he's not," Naruto was quick to agree, "And...I'd feel it too. He...he's my friend." He finally allowed himself to admit and say out loud, mask of a smile slipping off his face just as he did. But only momentarily. Idiotic grin was back on full-force soon enough. But he did lay a gentle hand on Sakura's shoulder and squeezed it, not surprised when the girl didn't shake it off disgustedly as she normally would. 

He was startled however, when Sakura suddenly threw her arms around his neck. Not knowing what to do, he closed his own ones around her in an awkward hug. 

"He's not dead. You believe in it too, right? Then he's not. I know he's not...." 

He was still alive. They've both known it all along. 

"Sasuke...." 

**--end of chapter 3--**

**Disclaimers:** _If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be having so much trouble keeping the character IC. "Shameless Plugging" (see A/N 4) is Kazie's style._

**Author's Notes:**

1. Longest chapter as of yet. As usual, sorry for the late update! Belated Merry X-mas and a Happy New Year, minna-san! 

2. Warning! A lot of OC characters are about to come. I'll try my best not to make any of them seem like an MS. Btw, Giichi is _not_ an OC, just a not-so-famous character in the manga. He first appeared on the bridge to tell Tazuna he's quitting, and then he's the one Inari asked to help him fight. I'm not sure if I'm including any other Wave Country characters, but probably. 

3. Review responses are beloooooooow....these notes. 

4. Finally, I've decided that this story should be sometime after Wave Country mission and before the Chuunin Exams. I know there wasn't much time between those two, but live with it. xD Also, the reason I chose this country is because it's non-military. The use of that to this story would be seen in the next chapters. 

5. Shameless plugging: (tho it needs no plugging) check out my Ayane Selznick's Someone Screaming when you get the time. It's a SasuSaku Naruto fic set in the not-so-far Naruto-world future. 

**Review Responses:**

**TFI-Muse** - thanks much! I'm afraid I haven't had 'good writing days' but I'm hanging in there. What does TFI mean anyways? 

**SilencedDreams011** - so Aya tells me you're also a friend of hers? That's cool! I'm Ayane Selznick's real/net best friend! Nice to meet you! And sorry, I've forgotten about Inner Sakura. She doesn't appear much in the manga chapters I'm (re-)reading right now (Leaf Vs Sand and Sound). But I've tried to re-insert her in this chapter and expect future appearances from her. 

**TrigunChic** - hey! Thanks so much for the a/n feedbacks and writing-comments! I really appreciate it! 

**kira-924, benjem, sasukegirl, Smiling-Fox, Amanda** - thanks a lot and sorry about the slow updates! I'll try updating faster, but no promises! 

**Crimson-Eyed-Angel99** - Of course not! I love Sasuke to bits! xD It's revealed in this chapter what happened to Sasuke...sorta. More info on the next one! 

**Ayane** - Aww, best friend!!! -hugs- Thanks much for reading/reviewing and I've returned the favor, ok? Yup! I LOVE the poster, you know that! Looks like I have lot to respond to with you? First, Kakashi was reading CCP (Come, Come Paradise) _and_ he was quite far from where Sakura and Naruto had moved to. Remember? He and Naruto even had to _run _ quite a ways! Second, just upside-down-with-a-leg-caught for Sakura's position. Keep it simple, now you confuse even me! Third, see A/N no. 4 for the timeline. I'm crazy, I know, and you'll be contradicting me on this with your omni-knowledge of Naruto, I know that too. xD Luv ya! 


	7. Chapter 6: Sasuke's Return?

**Echo of a Voiceless Scream**

**Chapter 6: Sasuke's return?**

The play ended at long last, and long it really had been, lasting for almost three hours. Merry-making had followed, the younger ones of the _'actors'_ dancing in the middle of the room turned into an instant dance floor by clearing out some tables, while the older ones went around politely accepting the comments and compliments of the villagers, once in awhile also receiving small favors which came in the form of money or food. Sasuke was one of the latter, with the two genins about to approach him, before the children began to once again crowd around him. They pulled him towards the _'dance floor'_ and, much to his teammates' surprise, he allowed them to, laughing the entire way. _Laughing!_ It felt so strange to hear Sasuke laugh. If they didn't know better, they would have thought they had the wrong person. But how can they both mistake the same person as their lost comrade? 

"Ok, ok, stop pulling already! We have the entire night. I'll dance with all of you, alright?" he asked the children with a soft smile gracing his handsome features. The small ones around him gave sounds of delighted agreement and he quickly took the smallest girl by the hand. "I'll start with little Miri here then," he said and began 'dancing' with the girl, spinning her and with her on the floor. Out of their actors' garbs, which had been, in actuality, made only of colorful paper, both children were dressed in little more than rags but they had twin expressions of innocent bliss on their faces that for everyone else the sight of them was near majestic. 

"Naruto, tell me you also see what I'm seeing right now?" Sakura shakily asked the blonde, slightly breathless. Was it really him? Sasuke, silent, stoic Sasuke whose only known expressions were that of a smirk and a frown, was he really this young man dancing with a three-year old child and looking, for everyone to see, without a care in the world? "That _is_ Sasuke, right?" 

"I think so, Sakura-chan," Naruto answered, sounding a tad bit skeptical in spite of himself. As Sasuke's eternal rival and a boy, he wasn't as smitten by the display, but he was just as puzzled. Sasuke was definitely acting...strange, not at all like himself. What was he doing and why was he doing this? He had half the mind to march there now and beat the truth out of his black-haired teammate, as well as his sudden oddness, but the sight of Sasuke taking another child's hands into his larger ones kept him in his seat. 

With apparently all ramen in the kitchens eaten and all laughter spent, the customers finally began to leave. With an unspoken agreement, Sakura and Naruto both decided to confront their teammate once everyone else was gone and stayed behind, trying not to draw attention. Sasuke continued to dance, almost through with all his dance partners. The waitresses and the actors began to clear up the tables. Neither genin noticed the girl who had waited on them earlier approach their table. 

"Excuse me, but I have to clean this table. Will you please move to another one?" she asked the two, who both jumped at the sudden voice. 

"Oh. Um, don't mind us. You can clean the table with us here," Sakura answered the older girl with a smile. The waitress didn't say anything and just looked at them. Sakura finally consented and stood up, motioning to Naruto. 

Following his teammate's lead, Naruto realized they were heading for the clean table right in front of Sasuke's little performance. Not that he overly-minded. Though a bit disturbing, it was amusing to watch his black-haired rival dance with little children and he wanted to see it close-up- the more details he could have then to annoy Sasuke with later. He just hoped the Uchiha wouldn't spot them at once and stop. 

Children's laughter. "Oniichan's going to do it again!" one of them exclaimed. 

"Hey, be careful!" the young man who had played _'villain'_ in the play shouted. 

Amazed, Naruto watched as Sasuke climbed up the wooden table he and Sakura were heading for. He just stood on top of it, looking up at the exposed beams of the ceiling. Naruto wondered what in the world was his teammate planning to do. Something stupid, he answered himself. But even with that, he was still caught off his guard when Sasuke suddenly launched himself from the table towards the beams, grabbed the side of one and pulled himself up onto it. And then...began to walk the length of it while juggling what looked like origami kunais. 

_What the..?_

The children laughed in delight, clapping their hands. Sasuke himself laughed, even as he missed one of the _'kunais'_ and it floated down slowly to the group of kids as if it was made of feathers instead of paper. Or maybe it was because Naruto felt as if he saw everything in slow motion. 

The rest of the tavern's personnel had stopped whatever they were doing to watch the black-haired young man and his little act reminiscent of juggling on tightrope. All except one, their waitress, who still cleared their table. 

"I really wish he wouldn't do that!" they heard her vaguely say. 

Done with her duties, the girl held the empty bowls- quite a few, courtesy of Naruto- in front of her and stood beside the two shinobis, both of which had been both startled into silence. Like everyone else, she looked up to where Sasuke did cartwheels on the beam. 

"You should have done that when there were people here to watch you, you know!" one shouted up at him. 

On his feet, Sasuke placed his hands on his hips and leaned forward slightly to look at the person. "They wouldn't like a solo act!" he called down, laughing, "Maybe if you join me up here, Kira-niisan...but you'd have to learn how to get up here first!" 

Most everyone else laughed, except the two genins and the waitress. No one else noticed it, but Naruto did. A pained look flickered across Sasuke's face for one moment and then one of his hands came up to clutch at his head. He staggered a little and then... 

Sakura screamed. 

The sound of breaking glass overpowered the laughter as the waitress behind him dropped the bowls. 

Naruto's body moved even before his brain could register what was happening. 

...Sasuke was falling. 

**-oOoOoOo-**

"He just passed out," Sakura told the worried faces around them as she checked his pulse. A strange sound from Naruto reminded her that Sasuke was still lying over the blonde, and she held her black-haired teammate as the other slipped out from beneath the unconscious boy. She watched as Naruto got to his feet and stretched, relieved when she saw that he didn't seem to have broken anything. 

"Is he okay?" 

She nodded, repeating what she had said but seconds ago, and added, "Nice save, Naruto!" 

"Heh. I tell you he's no-" 

"Are you sure he's alright?" a near-frantic voice asked, cutting the blonde's statement off. It was no other than the waitress. The young girl kneeled down next to Sakura and Sasuke's prone form, brushing the hair from in front of Sasuke's closed eyes. She was maybe three or four years their senior. "He had a slight fever this afternoon! He shouldn't have been doing that- he shouldn't even have been in the play at all!" 

More than one face registered surprise. It seemed as if the fact he had been sick was kept from most of the group. Quite a few of the children looked close to tears and Miri was already crying. They started to crowd around Sasuke again. 

"Out of the way now, Mama is coming!" the _'villain'_ actor told the children and they immediately pulled back. The girl kept to her place though. 

"Oh dear..." the woman who had talked on-stage before the play couldn't help but say as soon as she caught sight of Sasuke's pale face. She grabbed the waitress' arms, pulled her to her feet, and then gave brief instructions on preparing a place for Sasuke. The girl looked torn, as if she'd give anything to stay where she was, but with one last look immediately moved to do as she was bid. "I'll take him now, dear, thank you," the woman kindly told Sakura as surprisingly strong arms took Sasuke and carried him off the floor. 

"Mama, I can carry-" 

"It's fine, Athrun," she reassured the _'villain'_ actor as she walked past. They headed for the back of the large room. Naruto moved to stand behind Sakura who remained seated on the floor and grabbed the girl's arms. He gently pulled her to a stand. 

"Come on. Let's follow them." 

**-oOoOoOo-**

It was...cold. He couldn't feel it for some reason, but he knew the waters were cold. There was a sense of familiarity to it, but he couldn't remember ever being washed away like this, rushing to nowhere. But then again, he reflected, he couldn't remember much anyway. 

His head went under. He couldn't breathe and his chest tightened but still he couldn't feel the pain. He didn't have the time to think this over however, before he lost consciousness and everything went black. 

He blinked. There was...there was light. A blurry figure loomed over him and he was aware of green things surrounding them...trees? 

"Hey, are you awake already?" the figure above him asked. It was a male's voice. 

"Where...am I..?" he groaned out, finding it hard to speak. 

"In Mama's room. Are you okay?" 

He groaned in reply. His head felt like it was being split apart- from the inside. 

"Okay, wrong question." 

"We're not in…the tavern. We're in a forest. Who…are you?" 

"It's me, Kira," the man said. He could almost hear the frown in the other's voice. A second equally blurry figure came into his line of sight. "I think he's a bit delirious, Athrun…" 

"No, just not fully awake. Hey, wake up…" 

"But I'm awake," he mumbled tiredly before falling back asleep. 

**-end of chapter 6-**

**Disclaimers:_ SDA. I'm lazy, I know._**

**Author's Notes:**

1. As usual, I'm sorry for the long delay. And I think the next chapter would take even longer than this. Gomen, gomen. I have my thesis and tons of other school projects on various subjects to work on. Not to mention the exams are coming up...I really _have_ to get serious if I want to graduate with satisfactory grades!

2. Speaking of projects, I'd like to ask your help for one of them wherein we have to get other people's opinions about us. In this case, I suppose, the readers' opinions on me as a writer. A line or two would be great. You can place them with the review or e-mail me at Arigatou!

3. Now, for a _proper_ note...Well, there's really nothing much to say about this chapter. It's pretty straightforward except, perhaps, the last part. It's in Sasuke's POV. The first part was a dream, the latter was an amalgamation of reality and dream. He was dreaming of the time he got washed downstream and ashore where Kira and Athrun found him.

4. The tavern folk are all my original characters, although the names Kira, Athrun, and Miri come from the anime _Gundam Seed_. Humor me. I love this series.

5. Shameless plugging (_really_ shameless): Please check out my other Naruto fic, Aiko High School. It's no-quick-update and there are only two chapters as of yet but nonetheless please check it out if you have the time.


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